An open letter to the Prime Minister

I wrote to you in May 2015 explaining the situation me and my whole family are in. We are all now vulnerable victims of your justice system that allows guilty verdicts on nonexistent crimes. We are all devastated at the way in which we have been treated by the police, CPS, legal aid lawyers, barristers and the judiciary.

We have been sacrificed. Our lives stolen and our whole family put into trauma.

The criminal courts, following the ruling of the House of Lords in DPP v P (1991) 2 AC 447, had come to accept multiple allegations as mutually corroborative, even when they were not ‘strikingly similar’. In 2002, the Commons Select Committee on Home Affairs issued an authoritative report which warned that the combination of this judgement and the lure of compensation was creating a ‘new breed’ of miscarriage of justice. Among the committee’s members who signed this report was a youthful Tory MP, David Cameron.

Prior to this horrific incident, we brought up our family to be kind, caring, human beings and to have morals and to trust in the police and justice system. We were so wrong. The first time me and my family ever needed the police to protect us, they completely destroyed us, without a second thought or care for the lifelong consequences.

Ours was a historical case, allegedly 11 years ago. This crime did not happen, it was totally fabricated. All fantasy. There was no corroborative evidence, as it did not happen. The police and CPS did not conduct a fair and thorough investigation.

I know this as I was present at all times and so was my stepson and the accuser’s sister. No one interviewed any one of us. All of us, key witnesses as we all know the truth. We were all present. The Merseyside Police were only interested in a conviction. It seems they are conviction chasers not truth chasers. When challenged about not interviewing key witnesses, they stated that they are guided by the CPS and the CPS did not require them to interview key witnesses. I would like to know why?

It seems the Appeal Courts require new evidence. Evidence that wasn’t available at the trial. Can you please advise me on how I do this? How do I get new evidence of a crime that did not happen 11 years ago? This is my task

Why would you want to convict, innocent, good living, honest people, for crimes that did not happen? There was no corroborative evidence, whatsoever. The words ‘beyond reasonable doubt’ have been removed. Are you aware of that? I wasn’t, neither were any of our family or friends. The general public are of the opinion that the words ‘beyond reasonable doubt’ are included in all trials. This is not true.

The accuser is called ‘the victim’ and is protected in court. Video links are used and coaching in being a witness is used. Your Secretary of State, Rt Honourable Theresa May’s culture of ‘you will be believed’ is being used in courts and juries therefore they presume guilt as they must believe the accuser. This is wrong. When the jury believes the accuser before the trial begins, is this not ‘presumption of guilt’ and against ECHR Article 6, everyone is entitled to a fair trial and must be Presumed Innocent.

We were given legal aid, the full cost of which I have now repaid, as I was threatened and bullied that a charge would be placed on my property if I did not make immediate payment. We used a legal aid barrister, who I now know is only required to do the bare minimum. The solicitor that we had was recommended to us by the police. He was the on call solicitor. We now know that he too, did not have the specialised experience required in these cases.

When these false allegations were made against my husband, the police created evidence by making a video of the accuser who was in distress for some reason, she was also on medication and there was no qualified doctor present. She just nodded her head. The police officer spoke the words and she just nodded. This was shown in court. We had not seen this video. We were only allowed a transcript. There was also a letter from her sister that was read out, which we were not aware of.

The few social reports that they had, were given to our barrister on the morning of the trial. We had not seen them, nor had time to investigate them or challenge them. I have since applied to the police for this video and letter so that I can get an expert to see if it is legal. The police won’t allow it without a court order from an appeal judge. Yet I can’t get an appeal judge to grant us a court order without finding some new evidence first. I feel that the police are hiding evidence that could help with an appeal. Why won’t the police help us?

How wrong were we?
Your justice system has destroyed our family. It has let us all down. We trusted your system. We brought our family up to believe in the police and the justice system. How wrong were we?

It seems the Appeal Courts require new evidence. Evidence that wasn’t available at the trial. Can you please advise me on how I do this? How do I get new evidence of a crime that did not happen 11 years ago? This is my task.

The appeal court is asking the impossible. Why is that? Is the justice system not there to find the truth? It seems not. I lodged a complaint with the police PS in Feb 2015. Their reply was that they are satisfied with the enquiry.

My innocent husband is now sitting in a cell, convicted of a crime that did not happen. Your justice system has destroyed our family. It has let us all down. We trusted your system. We brought our family up to believe in the police and the justice system. How wrong were we? Only the wealthy, those that can a afford the best defence lawyers and barristers have a chance of being found innocent in these cases. Defendants have no chance with inexperienced legal aid lawyers and barristers. Our defence lawyer did not bother to even attend Crown Court once. That’s how much effort he put into our case.

The barrister stated ‘the system let you down’ and then left us to rot.

In these historic sex abuse cases the burden of proof has for some reason been transferred to the defendant from the prosecutor. The accuser is called a victim and the defendant is now presumed guilty as the accuser must be believed. Surely these trials are unfair trials as ECHR state that everyone is entitled to a fair trial and must be presumed innocent. The Government make the laws, the judiciary follow your laws, which is why I am asking you for help.

You have recently made a statement ‘there’s an industry trying to profit from spurious claims’ and you intend to put a stop to it. I sincerely hope that you intend to include the historic sex crimes compensation industry in your mission. Please help us. That’s all we are asking. We don’t want revenge, we just want our family back. We are entitled to Justice too. We are not prepared to be sacrificed by a justice system that allows guilty verdicts on nonexistent crimes. There are thousands of innocent people sitting in cells. There are many others who will not come forward as they are terrified that the police will go out trawling for more false accusers, with their dangling carrot of compensation. Please do something about it. If you can’t sort this out, then who can?

This letter first appeared in Inside Time (here). Thanks for letting us reproduce it.

It like reading my relations story I attended his first trial the jury couldn’t agree and so the CPS wanted a second chance to get a conviction sadly the police coached there star witness who lied on oath and was caught out whilst giving evidence.I and his family have fully supported through out all this how naive we where then.The duty solicitor should never be trusted there work provider are the police would anyone want to lose there best customer ? It is hard to find fresh evidence but having received all paper work from his solicitor including all unused material,and both trial transcripts there is hope for him.

Sandra NixonApril 15, 20167:43 pm

I can corroborate your story. My evidence was used to corroborate others stories (abuse cases) even though i was asking for something entirely different from the solicitor, even evidence I did not know they had was used without my knowledge. I had made what I wanted very clear from the start. In fact I was threatened that if I took certain actions (a different story, see my blog) my story would not be corroborated by another person who’s story was not in any way the same as or remotely like mine. I did point out that I didn’t need anyones corroboration. My sympathies are with you. This is not fair, surely anyone can see this.
I have substantiating evidence if you are thinking of building a case. : )

I can be contacted

Sandra NixonApril 15, 20167:56 pm

Maybe by demonstrating that this way of conducting these cases is not sound if enough people will come forward. No-one is saying that this does not happen but the innocent must have the support of the courts; no matter who that might be. Justice should be blind, but not as blind as a bat which is what the present situation creates.

WilliamApril 16, 20165:57 pm

Yes! Agreed.. The law is called the Salem law which is the same law that convicted witches in the medieval time. This is because as in those fearful days no corroborating evidence was required and the only evidence required being gossip and a pointing finger – the outcome of prejudicial conviction is the same as the jury see a man and a defenceless woman – especially when during the open court preceding the man would be sitting on a platform surrounded by a “fence” with a guard sitting next to him but the adult female accuser was shrouded and protected by a curtain so that only the jury could see her – so the question is “who did the jury see as guilty before the trial began?”
I was hit by the same law and clearly the evidence against me was so impossible that the CPS refused all charges. Then when I put in six complaints to the Chief Constable about how I was arrested and treated – as an innocent until proven guilty person – I was then phoned a few days later and informed that they had newly decided that trial would go ahead and because of this they could not answer my complaints for it may affect the jury.
In my own innocence I did not know about the Salem law and no defence was put forward by my barrister as I thought nothing was needed to be refused for all evidence against me was unnatural and nonsense but I was staggeringly plus prejudicially found guilty and my sentence was even increased by 50% from 56 months to 7 years – because I pleaded innocent.
Now I have some serious advice for your comment about ‘there’s an industry trying to profit from spurious claims’ this is true. In the compensation case again me my accuser was awarded £18,648 and her solicitors charged me her fee of £54,981 , for this 30 minute undefended hearing – a total cost to me of £73,629 – so yes it can easily be seen that an advert from solicitor’s could say “Have you ever been sexually assault at any time in your life? If you have then come to us on a ‘No Win No Fee’ basis and you could earn from£10,000 to £50,000”.
My advice to you and all others, for there are now thousands of innocents being convicted by this law which is impossible to appeal against for you need to disagree with the jury who have acted legally. This advice is to obtain a good “defence lawyer” to protect you at the compensation case and not a negotiating solicitor. You need to go through the psychiatric reports and other evidence being put to the court by the accusers solicitor’s in order to maximise a high compensation and so increase their fees – you may find that they are very different as well as similar statements from what was used to convict you. In my case I could prove by former police statements and independent witnesses that over 90% of all statement made against me were fabricated but I could not produce this evidence at this compensation hearing because my accusers solicitors had placed a freezing injunction upon my assets and so they refuse to realise fees for a defence lawyer which I requested – saying that they would only allow the release of fees for a negotiating solicitor – which I refused.
Sadly, although at my release I constructed an appeal against the findings of this compensation case in which I conclusively showed that over 90% of all statement evaluated by the court – were fabricated – I was informed by our Justice System that my revealing of these untruths would be a “potential unfairness to the respondent who has had an unchallenged order in her favour for so long” ( two years) and also added was the fact that I could not appeal against this judge’s decision at an oral hearing – which in my mind this statement is born of the same prejudiced that convicted me and possibly sexism for it is a bias that sweeps aside innocence as a nonentity and favours fabricated evidence that conclusively proves a crime was perpetrated against the courts. My question being – Why is this? But no one answers…
Good luck
William

P ClarkApril 27, 201610:22 pm

Hi I wrote this letter and I would be grateful for any help or guidance. I did give inside times authority to pass on my email address. They published my letter first. It would be good to contact you Sandra Nixon.